Strongly Held Beliefs

If wearable technology is the future the Apple is in trouble. I don’t say this because I dislike the company. I have an iPhone. I throw money at iTunes. I didn’t fight it when Apple decided to own my free time.

Now you may argue that the Internet of Things is the future of humanity. Continue reading →

Now don’t get me wrong. There are some deliciously big plot ideas that are unique and emotionally destructive. Few people can kill a character like this shows can. Yet, when I step back and look at this series I come away with exactly one question.Continue reading →

A few years ago a movie called Slumdog Millionaire came out and most people could see nothing else. If art movies have dreams then to keep their integrity while being embraced on the scale of a superhero blockbuster must be one of them. And this movie lived that dream to the detriment of better movies.

Now, I saw Slumdog Millionaire and it was not a bad movie. But it was not the best movie that came out that year. That same year The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Seven Pounds, Milk, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Doubt, and countless other movies came out. I saw a lot of amazing movies. I was stunned into a depressed shell of emotion by many of them and some of the endings still haunt me in a way only a brilliant moment can.

But these movies were overshadowed by the most public star of the cinema. And it is going to happen again. And while the movies from the previous cycle were dark and heavy the movies that are in danger of being obscured this year are warm and powerfully hopeful, potentially an even greater loss to the person who does not view them.

Interstellar might not be an underdog art movie but it is playing the same role. It will probably win awards, awards that other movies should get. This is just a brief plea to please not overlook some of the other stars. Interstellar will not fade for years. Please don’t let amazing movies like The Theory of Everything, Beyond the Lights, Rosewater, and The Hundred Foot Journey dim and faster. I’m not asking you to change what you like. But give less flashy movies a chance if you have the time.

And remember that just because a star is further away doesn’t mean it isn’t worth gazing upon. There is room for the sun and the stars in your life. Find the celestial balance you need.

For my job I have to tell every single person I work with to “Please turn off any cell phones you have with you.” A simple enough request you would think. But it isn’t.

I often will hear a vibration during the session. “Can you make sure your phone is completely off?” I ask. “It’s on vibrate. Is that okay?” they reply. No. No it isn’t. “We need it completely off,” I reply.

Other times I will see them turn their phones back on or see screens light up. I have to be the bad guy and firmly remind them.

“But this is my work phone,” they will occasionally shoot back. Hey, not my fault you are supposed to be working and put yourself in this situation.

People like this make me grumble but they are individual problems. There is a whole different breed of people I come across that make me truly worried. These are the people who don’t know how to turn off. Two different types of people fit into this category and they both scare me.

First, I come across people who literally do not know how to turn their phone off. They confide that they have never once had to power it off. These people have never been in a situation they felt required no phone access. They look at me sheepishly for help. And this isn’t just older generations. This includes people younger than I am.

Second, there are people who honestly don’t seem to know what off means when it comes to their phones. I will say, “Turn your phone off.” They will respond, “It’s on vibrate. Does it need to be on silent?” Sometimes they will even ask if I mean airplane mode. As if the concept of the power actually turning off will never have crossed their minds.

(Side note: Sometimes I will tell people to turn their phones off and they will dejectedly inform me that it is dead. As if this is the only time a phone could be completely powered down.)

The two groups scare me for one reason. In their recent and current lives these people seem to have never been in situations where they can’t press a button and see notifications. I imagine these people at a funeral quietly checking to see if someone posted to Twitter, looking at a snap during their daughter’s wedding, obsessively checking for a texted reply as they sit in a meeting where their boss explains about the unfortunate need to downsize. At any given point in time these people could be looking for distraction and they know the option is always there.

Impulse becomes controlled only by the individual. The only thing standing between these people and constant disengagement from the real world is their self-control. And I doubt the strength of the self-control of anyone who has never turned their phone off.

I recently went to the library and took out a book that was all about diamonds. It smelled like learning, it felt like knowledge, it read like self-betterment, and it let me understand something. Learning has evolved past the need to sit in the stacks and turn pages and that is quite alright with me.

You see, I learned about cut, clarity, color, and caret and I learned about historically significant stones, but I didn’t lean a lick about modern creation techniques or how they keep a now common stone at luxury status. Why was that? Because the only book in the entire library about diamonds was published in the 1980s.

And when I had further questions the book didn’t offer easily followed paths for further exploration. It didn’t offer hyper-linked references. Instead, I had to track down material that was out of print and out of date and I soon lost any desire I had for further learning. Continue reading →

Some of you might be like, “Prisma, you never gave any previous thoughts on the WC. What makes you think I want to read about it now that it is over?” I missed the opportunity to cover each game because of my real world job. But I do love making all-encompassing statements. So here is the one I will apply to this WC.

This was the cup of keepers. Granted, this WC almost broke the record for highest scoring tournament in WC history. But when you look back at the stats I am blown away by the keepers.

Here’s how the Man of the Match breaks down for all position but keepers. (A “w” indicates that the winning player’s team won the game. A “t” indicates that the winning player’s team tied the game. A “l” indicates that the winning player’s team lost the game.) Continue reading →